1. Field of Invention:
This invention relates generally to devices for altering the tonal characteristics of drums, specifically to an improved drum damper.
2. Prior Art:
The base drum is used in mot jazz and rock bands. It comprises a cylindrical wooden frame, shell, or counterhoop, about 1 meter in diameter and about 1/2 meter long, with each end covered by a taut "skin" or head. Bass drums are usually positioned with the heads vertical and are struck with a foot pedal operated beater--a pivoted arm with a padded head.
An ideal base drum, when struck by its beater, should produce the desired fundamental tones. Actual drums produce overtones, or harmonics, which are tones composed of the fundamentals and additional tones at higher frequencies. These are usually considered undesirable by most musicians since they make the overall sound hollow and reverberatory--an unwanted effect in most popular bands. However, drummers sometimes want some amount of overtones to suit personal tastes and the acoustics of the playing environment. In their efforts to control, reduce or eliminate the overtones and obtain a desirable sound, drummers place damping materials, such as pillow, foam blocks, or towels inside their drums and against the drum heads, or the drum surfaces. Drummers hold these damping materials against the vertically positioned drum heads with heavy objects, such as bricks and iron weights. Although effective at reducing overtones, this method is unreliable because the damping materials gradually shift during drum play and eventually become ineffective. Therefore, the damping materials require frequent repositioning to maintain their effectiveness. In addition, this method cannot be used on horizontally positioned drum heads because the tops are usually struck, yet there are no existing means to support the damping materials from below such top head.
A method more sophisticated than weighted down pillows is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,323 to Belli et al. (1986), where a circular base with multiple apertures and sheets of foam are used to reduce the overtones of a drum and muffle the volume for practice sessions. Although this device is effective at muffling the drum's sound intensity, it is not effective enough at reducing overtones, i.e., still leaves the drum with too hollow a sound, while it provides no means to adjust the amount of overtone reduction. Moreover, this device is unsuitable for actual performances, because these require reduced overtones without reduced volume.
In conclusion, the present "home brew" method for overtone reduction is effective but unreliable, while the patented device provides a fixed but insufficient amount of overtone reduction, and produces an undesirable and significant volume reduction.